The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has introduced new social media programs that are making the London 2012 Summer Olympics the most social and tech-savvy Olympics ever. “The Athletes' Hub has already compiled Twitter and Facebook feeds of over 2,000 verified Olympians. The additions we are announcing today further demonstrate the IOC's continued efforts to socialize the Olympic Games and create a better, more engaging experience for fans and Olympic athletes around the world," said Mark Adams, Director of Communications for the International Olympic Committee. The Olympic Athletes' Hub is an online destination that aggregates the Twitter and Facebook streams of Olympic athletes, past and present. Leading up to the London 2012 Games, a new page has been added to the Hub that takes fans “Inside the Olympic Village." This new page includes a live Athlete Q&A that allows athletes in the Olympic Village to chat directly with fans through the Hub. Also new is “Faces of Olympians," a collaboration between the IOC and Instagram that showcases a collection of athlete photos taken throughout the London Games. Olympians in the Athletes' Village are being photographed as they pose with their best “Olympic Face." The photos are tagged @facesofolympians and displayed through the Faces tab on the Hub. The Olympic Challenge in the Athletes' Hub is a social game that allows fans to compete with their friends and other fans to make predictions about events occurring at the London 2012 games. Each day during the Olympics, fans can predict the outcome of various Olympic events and see how they rank on the leaderboard against their friends and fans around the world. The Olympic Challenge is integrated with Facebook and the Open Graph, allowing Facebook users to share their predictions with their friends and encourage social competition. The IOC's Tumblr blogs provide a bridge between the Olympics' mobile and online experiences. Olympic-related Tumblr blogs include: l olympics.tumblr.com – An aggregation of various existing social feeds. l facesofolympians.tumblr.com – Real-time photo feed. l olympicmoments.tumblr.com – Photos from Getty Images. l olympicfashion.tumblr.com - Follow Olympic fashion in this live feed which includes colorful photos and commentary. Fans can also connect with teams, athletes and friends and share experiences about the Olympic Games through other official online channels. These include: l The Olympics Social Media Hub - www.olympic.org/hub l The Olympics Twitter feed - www.twitter.com/Olympics l The Olympics on Facebook - www.facebook.com/olympics l The Olympics on Google+ - http://goo.gl/RRrPg l The Olympics on foursquare - https://foursquare.com/olympics
